Ricardo Alegría
Ricardo Alegría | |
---|---|
Puerto Rican | |
Occupation(s) | cultural anthropologist and archeologist |
Spouse | Carmen Pons |
Children | 1 |
Ricardo E. Alegría Gallardo
Early years
Alegría was born in
Legacy and death
Alegría was named the first director of the
Alegría was responsible for the renovation and restoration of historical Old San Juan under the leadership of then San Juan mayor Felisa Rincón de Gautier. He also spearheaded restoration of the ruins of the Caparra Archaeological Site and Fortín de San Gerónimo. As a result of his work Old San Juan was declared a Historical World Treasure. In 1976, Alegría opened the Center of Advanced Studies of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. In 1992, he established the Museum of the Americas.[4]
Alegría is considered a pioneer in the
Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa became inspired by Alegría's work and incorporated a fictional character based on him, named Ricardo Santurce, in his play El loco de los balcones.[f]
Ricardo Alegría lived in Old San Juan in his later years, until his death on July 7, 2011.[g] He had been hospitalized in San Juan's Centro Medico (Medical Center Hospital) a few weeks before his death. After a brief recovery, he relapsed, and was returned to the medical center, where he died of heart failure. He was buried at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[h][i]
Awards and recognitions
In 1993, President
Alegría also received recognition from cultural and architectural organizations in Peru, Venezuela, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, where he also received an honorary doctorate. The city of Havana recognized his influence in the project to remodel the city's historical district (similar to Alegría's work in Old San Juan) by honoring him with a plaque, which, while he was alive, was the only monument honoring a living Puerto Rican in the entire city.
Puerto Rican folk duo Los Niños Estelares dedicated a tribute song to Alegría, named "Alegría, Doctor Alegría", in their 2010 album, Namasté. In it they describe many of Alegría's accomplishments, his educational background, and -partly in jest, due to Alegría's impressive credentials- likened him to Indiana Jones. In the lyrics, they name Alegría "the last Puerto Rican hero."
Works
The following is a list of books which Alegría has either authored or co-authored.
- "Ball Courts and Ceremonial Plazas in the West Indies" (1983)[10]
- "The three wishes; a collection of Puerto Rican folktales"(1969) ( with Lorenzo Homar)
- "History of the Indians of Puerto Rico" (1983)
- "El Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1955–1973 : 18 años contribuyendo a fortalecer nuestra conciencia nacional" (1978)
- "Taino: Pre-Columbian Art & Culture from the Caribbean" (with Fatima Bercht and Jose J. Arrom) (1998)
- "Las primeras representaciones gráficas del indio americano, 1493–1523" (1978)
- "Descubrimiento, conquista y colonización de Puerto Rico, 1493–1599" (with Mela Pons Alegría) (1984)
- "Historia y Cultura de Puerto Rico: Desde La Epoca Pre-Colombina Hasta Nuestros Dias"
- "Excavations at Maria de La Cruz Cave & Hacienda Grande Village Site, Loiza, Puerto Rico" (with Irving Rouse) (1999)
- "La vida de Jesucristo según el santero puertorriqueño Florencio Cabán" (1983)
- "San Juan de Puerto Rico" (with Manuel Méndez Guerrero and María de los Angeles Castro Arroyo) (1989)
- "Cafe" (1967)
- "Programa De Parques Y Museos Del Instituto De Cultura Puertorriquena" (1973)
- "La Fiesta De Santiago Apostol En Loiza Aldea" (1954)
- "El Fuerte De San Jerónimo Del Boquerón" (1969)
- "El Ahijado De La Muerte"
See also
- List of Puerto Ricans
- Puerto Rican scientists and inventors
Notes
- Spanish name, the first or paternal surnameis Alegría and the second or maternal family name is Gallardo.
- ^ Smithsonian Institution (2004) "I was greatly motivated by my father, the writer Jose Alegría, who taught me to dearly love Puerto Rico and to be proud of our history and culture."[2]
- Caribbean Business (2011) "Alegría earned his bachelor’s degree in archeology in 1942 at the University of Puerto Rico, where he founded the Alpha Beta Chi fraternity [...]"[3]
- ^ Smithsonian Institution (2004) "Alegría was a pioneer scholar in the study of the culture of the Tainos, the native peoples who existed in Puerto Rico before Columbus’ arrival."[2]
- Caribbean Business (2011) "DNA studies have backed up Alegría’s estimate that about one-third of all Puerto Ricans have Taíno blood."[3]
- Caribbean Business (2011) "Peruvian Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa was inspired by Alegría’s work and incorporated a fictional character based on him, named Ricardo Santurce, in his play “El loco de los balcones.”"[3]
- ^ El Nuevo Día (2011; in Spanish) "El prestigioso profesor, figura indispensable en el desarrollo de la identidad cultural nacional, falleció hoy a las 6:05 a.m."[6]
- ^ Primera Hora (2011; in Spanish) "Alegría Pons explicó que su padre salió del hospital en junio, donde le habían practicado un cateterismo y una angioplastia, pasó dos semanas en su casa, hasta que el domingo pasado le dio un dolor de pecho muy fuerte. Fue reingresado al Cardiovascular pero no pudieron hacerle otro cateterismo porque estaba muy débil."[7]
- ^ Primera Hora (2011; in Spanish) "Alegría, de 90 años, falleció a eso de las 6:59 a.m. en la Unidad de Coronaria del Centro Cardiovascular de Puerto Rico y el Caribe [...]"[7]
References
- ^ Arroyo, Efrén (July 7, 2011). "5 días de duelo por muerte de Don Ricardo Alegría" (in Spanish). WAPA-TV. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Biography: Ricardo E. Alegría". Smithsonian Institution. 2004. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- ^ Caribbean Business. July 7, 2011. Archived from the originalon 2014-01-10. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- ^ "Ricardo Alegría" (in Spanish). Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular. July 11, 2011.
- ^ http://www.lehman.edu/vpadvance/artgallery/gallery/images/taino_treasures/hernandez_essay_a.htm [dead link]
- ^ "Restos de Ricardo Alegría serán velados en el Centro de Estudios Avanzados". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). July 7, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- ^ a b "Fallece don Ricardo Alegría". Primera Hora (in Spanish). July 7, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- ^ "Gray, Franklin awarded 1993 Charles Frankel Prize". chronicle.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
- ^ "Ricardo Alegría - La Habana, Cuba - Citizen Memorials on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
- OCLC 635674732.